Bell offers comment on involvement in anti-piracy alliance

Thirty different entertainment companies came together this week to form an anti-piracy alliance, and Bell Media stood out as the lone Canadian company involved in the group.

Now, the company is opening up about why it joined the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).

According to Bell spokesperson Nathan Gibson, it was a matter of continuing to fight against piracy, while also supporting the work of the content creators whose work is available through Bell.

“Bell Media has long worked with many other coalition members and, as the largest producer of original programming in Canada, membership in ACE is a natural fit for us,” said Gibson, via email.

“If we’re to continue to contribute to culture, support artists and generate jobs in creative fields, we have to work together to ensure that creators get paid for their content and that their creations aren’t stolen.”

As Bell sees it, ACE is an opportunity for different companies across the world — and, make no mistake, ACE is an international consortium of media giants — to pool their resources and better cooperate.

“By working cooperatively across the sector, we can bring our combined knowledge and resources together to work with governments, law enforcement, and other industries to more effectively reduce piracy globally,” said Gibson.

According to Gibson, ACE is a “multi-pronged effort” that utilizes education, legal enforcement of each media company’s content rights as well as the creation of “compelling content” for viewers through all the legal channels.

In Bell’s case, those are literally television channels, as well as Bell’s CraveTV and Alt TV offerings.

Gibson said that he, nor any other Bell spokesperson, couldn’t comment on the lack of involvement from Canada’s other entertainment companies. However, he did say that Bell works with other Canadian broadcasters to combat piracy here in Canada.

“ACE will welcome additional members who join going forward,” concluded Gibson.